In welcoming the
delegation, Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, Director of CCIA-WCC said
the WCC has supported the human rights work in the Philippines “for as
long as I can remember” and will continue to do so for as long as
human rights violations go on. He said the WCC, through its General
Secretary, is one of the international organizations that issued
statements in support of the call for the release of forty three
health workers who were arrested on February 6. He noted the strong
partnership between the churches in the Philippines and non-government
organizations that take a principled stand on human rights protection.
Also, lending support was Ms. Christina Papazoglou,
WCC’s Programe Executive for Human Rights.
A highlight of the
presentation of the EVPHRP was the case of the illegal arrest, torture
and continuing detention of the 43 health workers, more popularly
known as the Morong 43. Mr. Jigs Clamor, a member of the delegation
and husband of one of the medical doctors of the Morong 43, narrated
how his family suffered and continues to suffer while his wife is
under detention. He said his wife was told by the military officers of
reprisals to her family unless she admits that she and the others are
members of the New People’s Army. “This is the same story with the
families of the other detainees,” Clamor said. For six days following
their arrest, the Philippine Army denied them visitorial rights by
their families and legal counsel. He thanked the
WCC for calling for the release of the health workers.
Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez,
Chairperson of the Philippine human rights watchdog, KARAPATAN, and a
victim of torture during the Martial Law years, said that
international pressure is important for human rights work in the
Philippines. The number of victims shoots up, each time nobody is
watching, she said. Atty. Edre Olalia, acting Secretary General of the
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and a legal counsel of the
Morong 43 discussed briefly the legal twist and turns they are
confronted with amidst the impunity. All kinds of human rights
violations at every juncture were heaped on the Morong 43, he said as
he enumerated the extensive grounds for citing the arrest and
detention as illegal.
For his part, Fr. Rex
Reyes, Jr., General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in
the Philippines, underscored the necessity of living out the words of
Jesus Christ who said “I have come that you may have life and have it
abundantly”. He said the defense of human rights goes beyond political
boundaries as, in the process, one speaks and declares hope where it
seems not to exist. He underscored the need to affirm the church’s
self-understanding as being for and with people. “We do our best to
preserve human dignity in that part of the world, conscious of the
fact that we are your representatives there. It is an ecumenical
task”, Reyes said as he reiterated the WCC’s definition of ecumenism.
He thanked the
WCC for its unwavering accompaniment to the churches in the
Philippines.
Following the
session, the delegation paid a call on WCC General Secretary Dr. Olav
Fykes Tveit. In welcoming the delegation, Dr. Tveit expressed the
WCC’s support to the work of the churches for the defense of human
dignity and assured the delegation of his continuing interest on the
case of the Morong 43. The delegation is in Geneva to attend the 14th
Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
